[0762]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45190227
This is a good explanation of Celtic's loss incl the prize money just for qualifying! Notice the amazing difference in financial incentive compared to the lesser financed quali process for the Europa League. IMO Celtic can still endure this kinda financial "hit" mainly because of their huge gains (approx £100M) in the past two seasons - something that all other Scottish clubs can only dream about! However, they must still ensure that they qualify for the Europa League tourney.

[1Wattie]

0762,
For quite a while Celtic supporters have been lamenting the fact that the defence is not good enough to take the pressure of the Champions League but the club have done very little to improve the situation. You quoted the £100M the club made in the last two seasons and taking that with the £125M plus at stake for this seasons qualifiers would have justified spending £25 or so millions on one or two C/L class defenders.
I feel sorry for the fans who have backed the club through thick and thin, they must be gutted at the lack of activity in the recent transfer window and be hoping the progress made over the last three seasons has not ground to a halt.

[St Charles Owl]

What Celtic probably need more than anything else is some serious competition domestically. At the moment they are almost guaranteed to win the league, and they could do that most seasons with the reputation they have without spending much at all. For them to reach the CL group stages each year they would need to spend a chunk of money which in fairness they do not need to currently spend to win the league, so I would imagine their board are probably firstly holding onto the cash they have and secondly accepting that they should reach the group stages 2-3 times out of every 5 years without spending more than they need to win the domestic title.

Problem is there is no one who can compete with them in the league on a consistent basis, Rangers might be able to do it if they ever really get their act together and you would hope that Aberdeen, Hibs and Hearts can challenge every so often but in the absence of any real challenge then the board know that next season they will get another tilt at the CL.

[1Wattie]

Good points SCO but do the fans not deserve the opportunity of reaching the Champions League group stages every year with the prospect of knockout stage every other year. Years ago European clubs did not like the prospect of meeting Celtic in knockout competitions but now they just see them as another run of the mill team. The fear factor is gone,if the board don't do something about it quickly it might never return.

[St Charles Owl]

Good points SCO but do the fans not deserve the opportunity of reaching the Champions League group stages every year with the prospect of knockout stage every other year. Years ago European clubs did not like the prospect of meeting Celtic in knockout competitions but now they just see them as another run of the mill team. The fear factor is gone,if the board don't do something about it quickly it might never return.

I am sure there are fans of clubs across Europe who deserve that opportunity, including Celtic. I would imagine that in terms of crowd size and possibly turnover Celtic must be one of the biggest teams in the qualification rounds to start with? The fact they have to qualify so early is also a product of Scottish teams fairly miserable performances in Europe for many years now that has seen Scotland slide down the rankings and first lose their 2nd CL spot and now see the Champions having to qualify. I think the fear factor of Scottish football as a whole has greatly diminished over the past 20-30 years so yes it needs Celtic to at least reach the group stages but it also needs the other teams who qualify for Europe to do better in the Europa League. Its good to see Hibs and Rangers still in the competition and hopefully both can get through, but its a shame that Aberdeen drew Burnley so early in the competition instead of one of the lesser teams.

I get the feeling that what the fans want at Celtic Park is not exactly in line with what the board are wiling to finance!! Its a bit like the Arsenal situation, they spent over a decade being happy with getting top 4 and getting into the CL without ever spending what they needed to to actually challenge consistently for the PL title. I think the board are happy to win the league every year and will make sure they at least achieve that, after that I think they are hoping that that is enough to see them reach the group stages. This season proved it wasn't enough so I would expect a bit of a splash for next season to push them a bit closer but I can't see the board fully committing to the CL as the group stages is the likely pinnacle at the moment and to get further consistently would require a lot more money.

[hibeejim21]

Bear in mind that the large figures quoted is turnover, it still costs a lot to run a club like celtic and to participate in the CL. They also appear to be investing heavily in redeveloping the surrounds of the stadium with a museum and hotel etc. Its a fairly rundown part of Glasgow so its definitely a good thing to be doing -giving something back to the local community.

With celtic as a business peter lawwell is basically running the club for Dermot desmond, in all honesty he has done a pretty good job getting good money for their players and their business model has worked. I'm not sure that a manager like Rodgers will really fit with that plan long term because he seems to want to buy players from the over inflated markets. I get the feeling a number of the signings brought to the club recently perhaps were not his, lawwell has interfered in the transfer side under deila and lennon remember ? That's what prompted lennon to leave celtic in the first place.

Since Brendan Rodgers arrived at Celtic the value of the shares of Celtic have doubled I think?. That's a huge increase in 2 years, their attendances are up too. Why on earth a board would want to get in the way of that is anyones guess, It looks from the outside like a power struggle between lawwell and rodgers, and I think either he or Rodgers might have to go if things don't change.

As for CL participation, if they don't qualify they usually sell one of better players to balance the books. Probably moussa dembele's turn this time.

[turkeydinner]

It`s definitely run as a sustainable business and to be honest quite rightly even back in Lennon`s day the plan was to buy and develop inexpensive players and sell on at a profit (Forster, Ki, Van Dijk,Wanayama etc)
Forever hearing it from Dons fans about how Donald is one of the richest men in Scotland yet rarely puts his hand in his pocket, however he`s made the club absolutely debt free, improved facilities and the academy whilst turning a small profit, how many clubs can say that?
"If I go and spend a million ponds on a player, every single person I employ will think I have extra money and demand a pay rise", he had a point, Dons cant afford mega wages or million pound players but are sustainable and I appreciate the work that`s been done to make this happen

Plain and simple Celtic cant afford CL standard centre backs to strengthen that squad probably couldn't even afford say Mangala on loan so they go for bargains in the Swedish leagues or journeymen. The last Scots pairing at centre back they had were Gary Caldwell and Stephen McManus , sadly that`s a huge drop in quality from Miller/McLeish, Dawson/McPherson, McQueen/Buchan, Narey/Malpas, Kenny Burns, Alan Hansen et al

Each time I see the Scots leagues getting stronger and young players coming through I also see many leaving not just to clubs in England either, now Ive nothing against a player going to broaden and better by playing in Germany or Holland but leaving for Iran, South Africa or the Azerbaijan leagues ? Yes, it needs a serious shake up and currently they have no idea how to do it. For me every club would be a lot closer to their community we have lost touch, look how all the village pubs are closing or becoming food based chain pubs with no atmosphere (Sky sports /John Smiths/Carling) . Families and real football fans need to feel safe in a good atmosphere, clubs need to get behind charities and local causes, speak in schools, if Scotland hasnt the coaches to teach good football then import some from Holland or something(I keep referring to the Netherlands because what they do is enviable and sustainable). Going to Football should be a memorable experience win, lose or draw for the right reasons- good pie, nice clean toilets, encouraging atmosphere, alongside like-minded fans,no trouble inside or outside the ground, safe to bring the bairns, disabilities catered for, stewards helpful, every club should audit their process regularly and improve each and every time, I feel many dont